CLAIR Magazine “JET Plaza” series: Jody Maria-Ann Dixon (Yamanashi)
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Each month, current and former JET participants are featured in the “JET Plaza” section of the CLAIR Forum magazine. The January 2014 edition includes an article by current JET participant Jody Dixon. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
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“Internationalization is a reciprocal process. So, whilst the language is seemingly daunting, it holds the key to a side of Japan you are yet to see. Learn the language, and you’ll be amazed at the things it will teach you.”
Originally from Jamaica, Jody Maria-Ann Dixon (Yamanashi-ken, 2009- present) came to Japan for the first time on the JET Programme. The melting pot of cultures and experiences she had daily during her previous job as a Guest Services Manager and Environmental Project Manager at a resort, coupled with her previous academic pursuits (BSc Geography and Geology at the University of the West Indies) were a huge influence on her decision to join the Programme. She has been living and teaching in Fuefuki, Yamanashi, for the past five years and reckons that this experience has engendered a spirit of loyalty; deepened her respect for people and their cultures; and has helped her immensely in making decisions towards her lifelong career goals, which will be centred on international education.
Language and Reciprocity
“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” – Nelson Mandela.
“Hello, Konnichiwa!” After four and a half years of walking down my senior high school’s corridors shoulder to shoulder with my Japanese Teachers of English, and hearing this familiar greeting, I am still tremendously appreciative of my students’ use of both English and Japanese interchangeably. Whether they believe that I still don’t understand Japanese (due to my minimal use at school), and they are making an effort to be accommodating; or it is simply an encoded reflex upon catching sight of me, it doesn’t diminish the warmth that the vocalization of a single, friendly, English word evokes.
Upon accepting my placement on the JET Programme, I was honestly blasé about the idea of learning the Japanese language. In my mind, I presumed two things: if it wasn’t a requirement for acceptance, it wasn’t a requirement for “survival,” and; with immersion, the acquisition of Japanese language skills would come easily and naturally. It was indeed sad, the hubris of this English monolingual. Consequently, I arrived in Tokyo in the summer of 2009, and shortly after being welcomed by the beaming faces of fellow foreigners with brightly decorated English placards, I was bombarded with signs, questions, choices and challenges, entirely in Japanese. Though I was to be a resident in this country – for what I didn’t know then, was going to be at least five years – for a moment, (that I didn’t allow to last too long), I was nothing more than a struggling “tourist,” being constantly aided by jovial and obliging individuals using a mixture of a smidgen of English, light speed Japanese, gestures noteworthy of a winning game of charades and a series of begrudging sighs.
No one, especially at the grand old age of 23, wants to feel helpless and illiterate. Whilst I relished being the novel neighbourhood foreigner, and welcomed the polite gestures and formal invitations extended to me, I constantly felt that there was something missing. Though there were always words being exchanged, I was failing horribly at meaningful communication. For a while, I felt cheated. My shortcoming of non-existent Japanese language skills had me teetering on the periphery of all the things life in Japan encompassed. If I wanted to regain my privacy; make connections and friends outside of my Japanese workplace; or indulge in and understand the folklore and traditions, etc. I had to make an effort to acquire some level of Japanese proficiency. I knew I was here to teach English, and perhaps about life in Jamaica if they’d agree, but I also understood very early, that in order to do so effectively, I would have to commit myself unreservedly to learning. Read More
CLAIR Magazine “JET Plaza” series: Marshall Ikeda (Miyagi)
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Each month, current and former JET participants are featured in the “JET Plaza” section of the CLAIR Forum magazine. The December 2013 edition includes an article by current JET participant Marshall Ikeda. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
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“From the day I set foot in Natori as a JET, I knew it would be a life-altering experience. As cliché as it sounds, I really do feel like [it] is my home away from home.”
Natori My Second Home
It was the heat, humidity and the overpowering sound of cicadas that welcomed me to the city of Natori. Bordering the neighboring city of Sendai, Natori is nestled between a mountain range to the west and Pacific beaches to the east. The mixture of city and country was a perfect combination to satisfy my curiosity and love for travel. After arriving, I began exploring the wonderful aspects of Natori every weekend, and quickly grew to know and love the area.
My commute to three different schools, two Elementary and one junior high, also helped me get acquainted with Natori. My favorite school to visit is an elementary school buried far in the mountains. In order to get there, I have to set out on a hard one-hour bike ride early in the morning. From the time I first arrived, this hour spent outdoors has allowed me to experience the beauty of all four seasons on my way to work. Paired with my time outdoors spent biking, the scenery surrounding Natori has made it easy to integrate the seasons into my classroom activities. In spring we hold classes under the cherry blossoms. In fall we trace Japanese maple leaves onto paper. In winter, we build three-piece snowmen. These experiences represent a unique cultural exchange for my students. I feel fortunate to be able to use my natural surroundings as a teaching aid. As Canada is also rich in natural beauty, it is easy to make ties to my homeland. Infusing nature into my teaching curriculum interests my students academically and culturally.
Despite many successful attempts to incorporate active teaching styles into my lesson plans, the most challenging aspect of teaching English has always been engaging the students. When I first began teaching, I was deluded by an unrealistically positive vision that all students adore English. I soon realized of course that this is simply not true- some students do not even want to try speaking at all! While I cannot force every student to love English, (and I am not expected to), I still try to demonstrate to my students how English is beneficial for travel, work, school, and lifestyle. My efforts in readjusting students’ perceptions of English is certainly not an overnight process, but I believe it is the driving force for myself, and many other ALTs working in Japan.
While it is discouraging at times that some students simply do not show an interest in English, there are always those students willing to go the extra mile. Over the past year, I had the pleasure of coaching one of my junior high students to the finals for the All Japan National Speech contest. Through her consistent time and effort, she was highly successful in her English goals. I feel very rewarded in circumstances where students display a positive attitude towards English, and want to put forth their best efforts. I believe that the most rewarding aspects of being an ALT comes from being able to see tangible results. Read More
CLAIR Magazine “JET Plaza” series: Penelope Fox (Saga)
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Each month, current and former JET participants are featured in the “JET Plaza” section of the CLAIR Forum magazine. The October 2013 edition includes an article by current JET participant Penelope Fox. Posted by Celine Castex (Chiba-ken, 2006-11), currently programme coordinator at CLAIR Tokyo.
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“Aside from the wonderful opportunity to live and teach in a country I love, I thank the JET Programme and all its participants I have had contact with for making me think more about the world I live in and how I can make a difference.”
Originally from Sydney, Australia, Penelope Fox (Saga-ken, Shiroishi-cho, 2009-14) developed an interest for Japan at the age of four while accompanying her father on a business trip there. She started studying Japanese in elementary school and, after graduating from university, embarked on a career in Human Resources while dreaming of going to live in Japan one day. Several years and a graduate degree in Education later, she joined the JET Programme and was sent to rural Saga. She has been teaching elementary school children for almost five years and, actively involved in AJET at the local and national level, has been an invaluable member of the JET community since then.
A change of perspective via the JET Programme
Like many people coming on the JET Programme, I was super excited to come to Japan and embrace its culture and language head-on. In fact, for me personally, the JET Programme represented the realisation of a long-term dream: to live in Japan for an extended period and combine my love of teaching, children and Japanese language, and experience ‘real’ Japanese life in the countryside.
While I tried to come to Japan with very few expectations, I would have to say that the JET Programme has been everything I hoped it would be and more: my schools (I have worked at a total of 15 different kindergartens, elementary schools and junior high schools over the past four years) have all be fantastic, each in their own way; my co-workers have generally been very welcoming and accepting of me; my supervisors have been kind; and my communities have embraced having a foreigner in their midst.
For my first placement, I worked in a small ‘city’ of 20,000 people surrounded by mountains. Coming from a dry, mostly flat continent like Australia, the beauty and vividness of the greenery I could constantly see around me that first summer never ceased to amaze me. Having requested a ‘rural’ placement on JET, I was thrilled. At first, my focus was on my work and understanding what it meant to be an ALT. In fact, I believe it took me almost two years to feel like I was really able to contribute to my full potential in classes and at school. As time went by, I cemented personal and professional relationships, and came to love my quiet country life in Japan; perhaps even more so than that first ‘honeymoon’ phase.
At the end of my third year, unable to secure a new contract with a cost-cutting BOE, yet not wanting to return home yet, I was lucky enough to be granted a transfer to a neighbouring city in the same prefecture. Though my surroundings have since changed to a flat landscape and the constant smell of onions and renkon (the two specialties of the area), plus a suite of new schools, the people around me again have made the difference in making me feel at home. My neighbours and co-workers epitomise what I believe to be one of Japan’s core strengths– the friendliness of the people. Again I am reminded how lucky I am to have this experience that has exceeded all my expectations.
